1. Field of the Invention
The present invention pertains generally to surgical instruments and, more particularly, to surgical instruments such as surgical tool drivers suited for use in orthopeadic surgical procedures.
2. Description of the Related Art
An orthopeadic driver assembly can be used to ream or cut a bone and thereby form the bone into a predetermined shape for receiving an orthopeadic implant. For example, an orthopeadic reamer assembly may be used to shape the interior or exterior surface of a bone. A rotary tool provides the rotational force and is connected to the driver, which is connected to the reamer. The driver generally has a shaft end and a drive end. The reamer may have a typically hemispherical shape and be attached to the drive end of the driver at the base of the hemisphere. The face of the reamer has a shape, which corresponds to the shape of an orthopeadic implant to be received within the bone, and includes a plurality of cutting teeth extending from the distal face. The reamer is positioned, oriented and placed against the bone surface to be cut, such as an acetabulum or glenoid and is plunge cut into the bone. The use of the reamer in this manner effectively removes a portion of the bone so that the bone is shaped to receive the implant.
Minimally invasive surgery reduces the size of the incision site so as to reduce trauma to the patient leading to reduced recovery time. Orthopeadic reamers have been designed for minimally invasive surgery, such as U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/659,812, assigned to the assignee of the present invention. There are known orthopeadic drivers, which have flexible shafts. Flexible shafts allow the reamer to travel along a path in a non-linear manner resulting in a less than desirable opening in the bone.
What is needed in the art is a driver shaped for use in a minimally invasive surgical application that is cost effective to manufacture and maintain.